Garden of the Unmourned
The Garden of the Unmourned is a monument dedicated to “every animal that has died as a result of human greed or carelessness.” It is located in a sparsely populated part of northern Unistan . Motivation and History Various events triggered or enhanced by human activity took a devastating toll on the world's animals in the pre-revolution Eras. Notable among these are the Nomad Blight and a horrific CCC accident which caused the destruction of all fish life. The Revolution itself caused considerable collateral damage. Billions of animals were also deliberately killed by certain unsavory activities of prehistoric and Cavendish times, such as true-fishing. (Forgive my bluntness, good readers; unpleasant facts must sometimes be faced.) Not long after the ascension of the Flambeauxs, the peaceful and medically-inclined nation of Unistan conceived a project of building a memorial to these innocent lives, seeking global participation that it might be regarded as a gift of the entire human race. At first, the idea was appreciated only by the Hintersteppes. The People's Society for Pleasure and Profit scolded Unistan for memorializing animals when “gajillions of humans have died that you could be worrying about,” even after being reminded that there were already hundreds of memorials to the human victims of past catastrophes. The former Phlogistonian states thought the project a thinly veiled attempt to cast blame on their technology, and were vocal opponents ... until Unistan expressed its wish for Phlogistonian engineers to enhance the monument with displays of light and electricity. They were eager supporters thereafter. The countries of Oswagalia and Greater Kenya were won over after massive grassroots movements convinced their governments to offer assistance. As global buy-in grew, the Worldcorp nations eventually signed on (likely for the positive public relations aspects), and the reluctant remainder followed soon after. The monument was completed in E7Y89, and the central pillar was signed around its base with the name of every independent state in the world, as was Unistan's wish. The artistic director for its construction was Jean Errianaud, considered the greatest surviving sculptor from the Baptiste Empire. Description The main part of the monument is a massive, spiraling granite pillar, carved with the faces of hundreds of species of animals, all of whom seem to be rushing toward its top. Quartz inserts glow from within, and from the top of the pillar, an orb of contained, gently pulsating electricity and phlogiston lights the area at night. The pillar is surrounded by a small manicured garden where human visitors may walk and sit among the jungle vegetation. Appropriately, the rest of the area has been left in an uncultivated state to provide wildlife habitat. The only amenities nearby are a hovercraft landing pad and a small visitor center, as the memorial was intended to be a place of pilgrimage, not a tourist trap. A graveyard near the visitor center provides a final resting place for animals of fame and influence, and is well-known as the burial site of Nan'Hirwen the Oru. Visitors are encouraged to leave shiny objects near the pillar as gifts for the resident corvids, who have nested among the carvings between the elephant's ear and the bear's head for many generations. Apocrypha From time to time, visitors claim that the carved animals on the pillar speak to them. The fanciful presume that they hear the voices of animal spirits, while the cynical put the stories down to large doses of alcohol. In this scholar's opinion, it is entirely possible that the engineers, whose Phlogistonian heritage may not be denied, hid speech synthesizers inside the pillar. Perhaps a slowly developing ARIAX entity (or many of them?) is concealed there even now. The cemetery predates the rest of the installation, and it is rumored that several Xerantine were buried there after they tragically met their deaths. Reportedly, the leaders of New Korea were unwilling to bury the creatures alongside humans, describing the notion as “creepy.” The curator of the graveyard sent a message to this effect: “They aren't really animals, but shoot, we'll take anybody who's unwanted.” The bodies of the Xerantine were quickly transported to the site and interred under strict secrecy. This story is lent credence by the fact that one Nolan Darbisher, a known descendant of Dudley Darbisher, pays his respects at the memorial with more than usual regularity and dedication. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of reliable sources to confirm this tale thoroughly. Nolan himself has declined to comment, saying that whatever the reason for his frequent visits to the Garden, it is “exquisitely painful” and he would not speak of it to the public. -- Ariane Vulpinia Citations Computational Confluence Conclave Dudley Darbisher Nan'Hirwen Unistan